A Christmas Story
by Jessica L. Pearson
Summary: harvey and donna go to donna's parents' house for christmas, taking their newborn baby. family drama ensues, as always, but the two are as witty as ever (au/present time) [2/4]
1. december 23rd

_**This is my Christmas present to the fandom. Special shout out to all of those who encourage me often. I know how you all feel about babies so here is a fic where Harvey and Donna have a newborn. There is a lot of family drama, a little bit of cute moments between Harvey and Donna, & comedy ensues.**_

* * *

James Gordon Specter was born at 3:37am on December 2nd, 2013, weighing in at 7lbs and 1oz. 

* * *

_**December 23rd, 2013**_

* * *

The blinker illuminates the dash and the tick sounds in a steady rhythm as Harvey turns into the neighborhood of Donna's parent's house. The neighborhood is so bright that Harvey almost considers reaching for his sunglasses even though the sky is dark, but he doesn't. He squints in an attempt to shield his eyes while still looking at the road.

Donna catches him and: _"you're squinting. You need glasses."_

"It looks like Santa threw up on the whole damn neighborhood," he counters. "Shit." The words have barely left his mouth when the back of Donna's hand has smacked into his arm. He shoots a narrowed gaze in her direction but is adamant about keeping his eyes on the snowy street in front of him.

Her palm presses against his khakis and slide towards his knee, "watch your mouth."

"Excuse me, _Miss, Goddamn It You Bastard_," he mimics the words that he's heard directed at him too many times to count over the last few weeks. "I didn't realize we were on a verbal cleanse."

"If you swear in front of my mother she will try to steal our son," Donna warns.

Harvey chuckles and for a moment she appreciates his laughter. She remembers a time when he barely laughed at all and how it used to burn in her chest even after the work day had ended and she was home alone in her apartment. His laughter comes easier now, but so does his arrogance. Even that is softer somehow. She wonders if maybe it was like for him the way it was for her - if the gratification of being with her touched his very soul.

He side eyes her and grins in that way that etches onto her skin. "Bring it on."

"She's stolen children before," Donna teases.

Harvey laughs again, softer this time, "you're making your mother sound like a very scary person."

"She's terrifying," she counters.

He stops at a stop sign in front of her parents' cul de sac and looks at her, "I could believe it."

"I know what you're implying but I'll choose to ignore it this time," she says with finality.

"Such a forgiving woman," Harvey comments.

She rolls her eyes in return, he doesn't have to look at her to know that. He's always been impressed by how well she knows him, but she doesn't know how well he knows her. Sometimes he likes to keep that a secret and surprise her. She's always able to mask her surprise but he can still tell.

"Which one is theirs?"

She sighs heavily and reverberates in her chest, "the one that looks like the elves decorated."

He can't tell if the sigh indicates embarrassment on her parents' behalf or annoyance at him. He thinks he'll chalk it up to embarrassment just to push the envelope a little bit. He always has liked living dangerously.

He pulls into her parents' driveway, taking note that they are the last ones to arrive, and wonders if they were saving that spot in the driveway just for them or if it was saved for something else. He releases a breath he doesn't know he's holding as he shifts a gaze towards her, his face lit up with multi-colored light bulbs hanging off of the house. She hasn't yet noticed him staring and it's in the moments where he feels invisible that he feels like he's the luckiest. A year ago his life was totally different.

A year ago, he and Scottie had just broken up. Donna was barely speaking to him. Of course she was doing her job and she was doing it just as well as she always had, but that familiarity was different. The simple things between them were missing and he didn't know how to get them back. In the course of deciding to try having a kid together and actually succeeding, they managed to fall in love with each other. Or maybe they managed to unveil a love that had always existed between them.

Christmas last year had been welcoming even though he wasn't attached to the family. Christmas last year had been them revealing the news that they were going to try to have a kid together and having to listen to her entire family tell them how it was a horrible idea. He supposed that this year will be when they tell them that they live together, that they're together - everything that her family has been telling her should happen but hasn't.

Or, hadn't. Not yet anyway. He can't wait to hear what they have to say this time.

The car is barely parked before Donna's mother is running towards it. Okay, she isn't quite running but she has a pretty good pace going for an old lady. She isn't that old but Harvey likes to poke fun at her age anyway. Of course this is all done the right way – behind her back and to Donna's face. He isn't an idiot when it comes to women. Besides, Donna would kill him if he said anything to make his family not love him.

"I thought we were past the awkward dating stage," he mumbles.

Donna unbuckles her seat belt and cracks her car door. "I guess we're about to find out."

"Oh joy," he grunts. He looks at her with a narrowed gaze, which seems to direct her attention towards him. The question settles on her lips, but it never passes in the air between them. "I wish you would let me help you."

Donna rolls her eyes, "I'm fine, Harvey. It's been three weeks."

"You still can't have sex," he mutters in annoyance.

She nearly punches him. "One more week. You're so impatient."

He shrugs and grins. "I'm a man who knows what he wants and I want it now."

"You always want it. You're a dad now," she points it, "about time you learn some self-control."

"But there's this really attractive woman I work with," he reasons.

"She just had a baby."

"She's still hot," he argues.

"You're clearly delusional," she laughs.

He sighs and shakes his head, but grins in spite of himself. Donna's mother practically peels the car door on Donna's side over. Donna's father hovers in the doorway like he can't decide if he wants to share his wife's enthusiasm or just blow it all off. Harvey knows what it's like to deal with a Paulsen woman every day but he's sure that the two women couldn't be more different.

Donna, unlike her mother, was reluctant to have children. She honestly wasn't even sure that it was something that she wanted until she realized that it was almost too late. She approached her friend Harvey with a proposal, one that would tie their lives together until the day that one of them dies. Harvey can't even explain the whirlwind of the last year, but most of the events were extremely unexpected.

"Donna Evelyn Paulsen, you are on _the_ list," Donna's mother barks in way of greeting.

Donna sighs. "What list is that, Mom?"

"You know exactly what list I'm talking about, young lady, and don't think I'm going to say it in front of the baby."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Donna insists.

"You don't even tell us that you had the baby until almost three weeks after-" her mother looks so mad that from the other side of the car Harvey nearly falls out of the cracked door, "I could strangle you. I can't believe that you did this to me – to us! Your father is so upset about this that he can't even come out here."

Donna looks up at her father and sees him laughing. She isn't even amused by this. "Congratulations. You're a grandmother again."

"Don't be coy with me."

"You don't even want to say hello to the father of my child?"

The older Paulsen woman paints a smile on her face just for his benefit, "hello, Harvey."

"Hello, Evelyn," he replies, giving her a smile wave.

"Can we get out of the car, please, Mother?" She asks. Donna tosses Harvey an eye roll and he just shrugs in response.

Her mother begrudgingly takes a step back to make room and almost immediately peeks into the back seat of the car. Evelyn's face presses against the glass in an effort to get a good look at the baby. Donna is already so done with the line of questioning and there is going to be so much more before the holiday is over. 

* * *

The house that she grew up in is lined with clear icicle lights, a snowman display on the right side of the front yard and Santa's sleigh on the left side. Their house, as long as Donna can remember, has always been the brightest in the cul de sac. They only want to spread the cheer. Her parents have always adopted joy and cheer around the holidays, no matter how bad things in their life have been. Even as a kid, Donna remembers it being that way.

Her parents could be on the verge of splitting up but the Christmas season always renews their vigor for life and for happiness. It almost always as though the arguments that built between them over the months had never even existed. Donna always envied that kind of relationship, the kind that withstands everything because they are two people who can be happy and excited. That's why Donna tries to find excitement from every angle. Harvey isn't much like that.

She's really glad that she can count on her parents to bring Christmas joy. However, since James was born, Harvey has been more like that. He was the one who couldn't wait for Christmas. He was the one who wanted to go shopping for the gifts. He even wanted to decorate the apartment with so many decorations that they could see it from the sky.

His excitement has been contagious for her though. Even when she's felt tired and like she isn't getting enough sleep Harvey seems to rub off on her. She doesn't know how he could possibly be feeling so rested after being woken up countless times throughout the night. She supposes that she could just be sleeping lighter for fear that she will sleep through James waking up and the possibility of no one hearing him. She likes to think of it as mother's intuition but she's probably just going crazy.

There's a comfort that she gets from being in her parents' home. Despite the fact that everyone is circling _the new baby_ (and inadvertently Harvey since he won't put the 3 week down nor will he let anyone else hold him), they've all still managed to be a bit snobby towards her. If it's for the same reason her mother is upset with her then no one has yet said anything. She'd really appreciate them all saying a little something to get it out of their system because she's beginning to feel isolated and wondering why she even came at all.

Brandon, her only brother and her oldest sibling, stands tall at 6'3". He's a basketball coach at a high school in New Jersey, and Donna utilizes every opportunity to make fun of him for moving to New Jersey even if it was for a job. He laughs politely because he's a gentleman, but he's lost his youth. He no longer knows how to joke around with his little sisters. She didn't get it when she was younger because he is _only 4 years older_, but she gets it now that she's an adult. She really can't stand the way acts like he's better than everyone when he really isn't, but his wife encourages the behavior. From her outsiders view, they've been on the rocks for the last three years. Rebecca, his wife of twenty-seven years, has had a drink in her hand almost the whole time. They have both lost their filters and don't seem to be bothering to keep their bickering to a minimum. Donna thinks their five kids must have a hell of a time being around the two of them.

Donna's older sister Cindy is loud as ever. Her husband Michael is the same way, but at least they are pleasant to be around. Their two kids, Bryce and Bianca, are nice and pretty well behaved but Donna hasn't spent much time with them. Cindy really likes to give Donna a hard time, but Donna can hold her own. As the only redhead with the rest of the family being blonde, her sister often made fun of her like older sister do. But Donna was annoying for the sake of being annoying. She was an excellent little sister.

Donna is closest to Amy, her little sister, but Amy's 6 year old son has no respect for anybody. Donna knows that Harvey won't put up with that. It doesn't help that Amy brings men in and out of Zachary's life. She doesn't even know this new guy's name. Is it Scott? Steve? She doesn't fucking know. What she does know is that Harvey has been patient with James, but James is a newborn. Any kind of behavior that Zachary displays and Harvey doesn't agree with could set him off. Last year, Harvey's reaction almost had Donna believing that it would be a better idea not to go through this with him. Not that she could blame Harvey though. Amy really doesn't enforce any rules on him.

Donna can't wait because by the time their Christmas Eve traditions even start her mother's siblings will be here with their kids. How do they even fit fifty people in one house? This house isn't really _that_ big. Not even all of the presents she and Harvey bought could fit in or near the tree in the family room. She doesn't even understand how they all managed to have separate bedrooms growing up. Her parents must have done some pretty shady things to keep them all happy as children.

It's her father's fault probably, for being the only child of an only child and inheriting family money. They have a six bedroom house with two living rooms and a pretty awesome basement (not to mention, the largest dining room she's ever seen in built into a home). It's always decorated appropriately and her father does it all on his own. She wonders how the two of them can even stand to live in this huge house alone.

Fleetingly, Donna silently wishes James _good luck this Christmas, Buddy_ because she's afraid of all the crazy her family has to offer. 

* * *

"Mommy's family is crazy," Harvey tells James as he lays the baby down on the bed, "they're loud and they all talk at the same time, but we love Mommy anyway, don't we?"

The baby coos and Harvey doesn't even consider that he's basically just talking to himself. "One day I'm going to ask Mommy to marry me and your only job is to get her to say yes."

"How much effort do you think that will take?" Donna's voice nearly makes him jump out of his skin.

"Jesus Christ," he breathes.

"Donna, actually," she corrects playfully.

"It's rude to listen in on other people's conversations," Harvey points out.

"Oh, I wasn't listening. I was just walking down the hallway and I overheard you," she replies as she stretches out on the bed beside the baby, "if you don't want what you're saying to be heard, maybe you should talk a bit quieter."

He stares at her for a moment, challenging her as an eyebrow slowly raises on his forehead – "when has that ever stopped you from listening in on my conversations?"

"Oh yeah," she says slowly, "I _do_ do that."

"Oh yeah," he mocks. He kneels on the floor in front of James and leans on his arms. Donna's hand comes up onto the baby's stomach. Harvey wonders if both of them being present is making James fall back to sleep. "I told you that we should have called them."

"Why are you so worried about it? They still like you. I'm on their shit list," Donna points out.

He smirks, "don't curse in front of the baby."

"Oh please," she says with a laugh. Silence grows between them for a few moments and he just takes a moment to listen to her breathe. She rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. Harvey feels badly about giving her a hard time, but she's always in good spirits. Even right after pushing out a baby she was ready to go toe-to-toe with him. She turns her head to look at him; "they're going to flip when we tell them."

"Maybe, maybe not," he disagrees with a shrug. "Or are you just afraid of the big _I told you so_?"

"Afraid? I got nothin' to be afraid of, baby," she jests.

"You're ready to go home," he nearly shrieks, "I can see it on your face every time someone comes up and goes _'You look great, for just having a baby'_ with disdain. You hate everything about what's happening here."

"I do not," she disagrees, "I just want his first Christmas to be perfect."

"It'll be perfect," Harvey replies softly. He pushes himself to his feet and stretches out onto the bed beside her. He presses his fingers against her arm that's above her head and slides his hand up to her own. "And if it isn't, we just won't tell him about it."

She laughs a little. It's quiet, but the movement in her chest rattles against his. He can feel the transfer of movement through their bodies and that makes him smile, too. She looks up at him with her big brown eyes and he almost forgets what it was like before they were ever together. He lightly presses his lips against hers. It's brief and barely enough to tie him over until they can actually tell her family.

His hand slides down the length of her and comes to rest at her hip (she takes in a sharp breath and he almost thinks that her eyes glaze over for a brief moment, but he attributes that to his own desires). His thumb slips just beneath the hem of her sweater and brushes over the skin at her waistline. She thinks that _he really needs to stop_.

Donna gets distracted by the way that James is sleeping, fists balled and lips pouting just a bit. She had hoped that their son would sleep like Harvey because at least he looks graceful, but James doesn't. The baby sleeps like her, always right on the verge of taking up the whole bed. She wonders how Harvey even manages to put up with her at night.

"So, when I was listening in to you talking to the baby-"

"I thought you weren't listening in," he interjects.

She shrugs, "old habits die hard."

He gives her a pass. "We'll work on it then."

"Anyway," she says, giving him a look indicating that she will probably never stop listening in on his private conversations, "you might have mentioned marriage."

"Maybe, maybe not," he admits. He shrugs like he doesn't want to make it a thing. She knows based on his demeanor that he's been thinking about it. "It was just a thought."

"Why are you being so ambiguous about this subject?" She accuses.

He sighs. "I haven't exactly been the most forthcoming with my personal feelings over the years, Donna. It isn't like I'm trying to shy away from this conversation. It's just that I don't want to make promises that I can't keep. You know me better than anyone, and you know that I don't go for anything that I'm not absolutely certain of."

"Bullshit, Harvey," she mutters through gritted teeth.

She begins to pull away from him, but he can't let her. His fingers wrap around her wrist on instinct and she pauses just inches away from crawling off of the bed. "Wait; please don't get mad at me over this. I'm not going anywhere. You already have me, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

"You don't have to be with me just because we have a baby together, Harvey. Us being together was never part of the conditions," she points out.

He smiles softly, reassuringly, "I'm not. I'm with you because I love you – because I want to be."

She doesn't say anything. He's pretty sure that she's about to cry. He isn't sure that he can handle seeing her cry right now – not because of something that he said or did. She's been so much more sensitive these past few months, more vulnerable. Maybe that's what made him feel like he could open up to her and express the feelings that he had kept buried. Her exposing herself made him feel okay with exposing himself.

His palm finds her cheek and his thumb sweeps over her cheekbone just in case she's already crying. "I don't love you because of James. I loved you long before that and we both know it. I just felt like I could expose that part of me to you because you exposed yourself to me. I mean, we have to admit that we were very good at convincing ourselves that we didn't have feelings for each other."

"You're not supposed to make me cry," she mutters as a tear slips down her cheek.

"I was trying to keep you from crying," he replies. She chokes on a laugh which prompts him to laugh a little, too. He doesn't know how to deal with all of her emotions. She was once predictable enough that he could read her like an open book, but since the pregnancy he's always blindsided. The wetness of her cheek sticks to his fingertips and he feels bad. "You know I've never been very good at seeing you cry."

"I know," she acknowledges, "I just still have those hormone things."

"Those things," he teases. "They don't seem like they're ever going away."

He offers her a small smile before closing the space between them and pressing his lips against her left cheek, then her right. Her eyelids flutter closed and she feels every ounce of reassurance that he's trying to send her. He's up to something though. He's always up to something. His lips find hers in a kiss and she sighs against his mouth.

"Oh my god!" Donna's five year old niece Bianca screams from the doorway.

Donna sharply looks behind her before the little redheaded girl can take off down the hallway in a run. Harvey laughs and slides his hands around Donna's waist. She smacks him in the chest really hard right before Bianca screams_they were kissing!_ from halfway down the staircase.

"Well, I guess that solves that problem," Harvey comments. Donna rolls her eyes so hard that it hurts Harvey's skull. 

* * *

Donna bounces her son up and down in her arms as he releases a shrill mixture of screaming and crying that has been bouncing off of the walls for nearly ten minutes straight. Harvey had reluctantly excused himself when Evelyn came storming in about four minutes ago and Donna has been having a staring match ever since. She's sure that the movement is a bit more aggressive than soothing, which she feels awful about.

"Do you want to go first or should I?" Donna finally barks. She can't take the staring and the crying at the same time. It's driving her insane.

"First you don't tell us that you even had the baby, now this?" Evelyn counters with equal force.

Donna laughs bitterly. "I didn't call, be mad at me about that, but don't be mad at me about this."

"About _this_," her mother mocks excessively, "THIS is not the whole issue. The issue here, Donna, is that you decided to move to the city and keep secrets from this family. You had a baby and didn't bother to tell me. You have a boyfriend and kept that from us. You said this baby plan would work because you two weren't romantically involved."

"We weren't, okay? We had sex a total of four times before I was pregnant and that was to have a baby in the first place." She's afraid that she's shouting, that this argument is a becoming everybody's business and not just theirs. The struggle of trying to have a conversation in the presence of a screaming newborn. "I wasn't keeping things from you. It isn't that simple."

"It never is with you," her mother comments snidely.

"I don't understand why you're so mad," Donna sighs angrily, attempting to rearrange James in hopes that it will help his discomfort, "it's Harvey. You like Harvey."

Evelyn glares. "Yeah, well, I don't like you very much right now."

"We both know that if I had told you that I was going into labor a month early that you would have freaked out. You would have made Dad drive you into the city at the speed of a mad man and you would have tried to control the entire situation undeniably driving me and Harvey both so insane that we probably would never get the hang of the parenting thing, not to mention any routine that we would have tried to get for the three of us would have been shot," Donna rambles. "Harvey and I have enough trouble conceding control to one another without any more control freaks in the room."

"You have always been my most difficult child," her mother mumbles, "you're brilliant but you refuse to concede to anybody."

"Now that's just not true," Donna disagrees. James still screams and she's just moments away from yelling at Harvey to get him to control the situation. She doesn't throw her hands up in the air often and she's great at multitasking, but these aren't just two small fires to put out – these are two forest fires set ablaze and moving at the speed of sound. "Look, after I got pregnant things were…strained and complicated between us. We weren't trying to turn it into anything romantic. I just, I moved in with him so that he wouldn't miss all of the pregnancy things and so that he could help me if I needed it. He told me how he felt about me one night, okay? He came home a little drunk and upset because none of this had happened the way that he wanted it to. That's when he told me. He told me that he had always pictured it being different when we had a kid."

"And just like that?" Evelyn sits on the bed like she's preparing herself a tornado.

Donna smiles softly and runs her hand over James' face. She lightly shakes her head; "not even. I slapped him so hard that it almost left a bruise. I told him that I hated him for putting me in this position, for allowing it to get this far when he knew he had feelings for me. I threatened to leave him – to leave work, to leave the city – and to come home to be with you and Dad. He just wouldn't let me. He fought like hell to get me to stay. I was just scared, Mom. I was scared because I knew it made everything even more complicated but everything else was a blur after that. I'm with him because I love him. Because he loves me. We're going to make this work."

"That's what your sister said," Evelyn mumbles, "yet we had to prepare another place at the table to fit in her new boyfriend of three months."

"I'm not my sister and this isn't some guy I've known for ninety days," Donna reminds her mother, "this is my boss, my best friend, the one person I couldn't imagine not being in my life other than you guys. This is Harvey and this is us. We didn't go into this on a whim, Mom. We went into this knowing everything that was at risk and everything that was to gain. We didn't make this decision lightly."

"I love you, Sweetheart, but you really make me mad sometimes," Evelyn says.

A smile tugs at the corners of Evelyn's mouth and it makes the tension in Donna's shoulders release a little. Now if she could just put out this other fire screaming in her arms. "The feeling is mutual."

"Good," Evelyn says. A full blown smile spreads across her features. Donna shakes her head and rolls her eyes. She knows exactly where she gets her attitude from. "Now, give him to me. Let Grandma handle this."

Donna sighs in relief, "I thought you'd never ask."

She passes her 3 week old child over to her mother and silently prays that the woman has a bit more magic in her after all these years. James is only her ninth grandchild, she's pretty well versed in the grandmother role. Donna is really glad that giving her grandchildren wasn't a burden placed on her. She watches her mother soothe James. He's still crying, but he isn't piercing her eardrums anymore.

"Come here," Evelyn says suddenly, "I'll teach you my secret." 

* * *

Donna descends the stairs to a living room full of people. Her toe catches on one of the steps as she comes to a stop and settles on her heel at the step just below it. Her hand clenches the wooden rail kind of tightly as she takes in the group of people in front of her. A few of her nieces and nephews are in the living room, some still haven't arrived because they haven't left their dorm yet, but the younger ones have disappeared downstairs in the basement where they're all camping out. She forgot how full the house would be and she feels guilty for bringing a screaming baby into it rather than finding a hotel.  
Donna can already tell that this is going to be a fun four days. Everyone is in the living room except for Harvey. He bailed on her. He brought her and their 3 week old son to her parents' and left them _there_. She can't believe that he didn't take them with him.

"Where's my," Donna starts but hesitates because she can't decide what word best describes Harvey. She can't think what the most casual way to refer to him is. _Her boss? Her friend? Her boyfriend? Her baby daddy?_ They really need to figure that out. She swallows the thick film of saliva that has gathered in the base of her throat and clutches the baby monitor tighter. "Where's Harvey?"

Cindy grins and eyes her little sister cheekily. "He's in the kitchen."

"By himself?" Donna says slowly.

"Yeah," Amy supplies, "but don't go in there. He already yelled at all of us."

Donna laughs. "He wouldn't yell at me."

"Suit yourself," Michael says like a challenge.

Donna could never back down from a challenge. She smirks and heads towards the kitchen, already prepared for him to tell her to go away but knowing that she's going to ignore him. The door swings closed behind her and alerts him of someone's approach. He's standing over the stove and it makes her wonder what the hell he could be up to.

She slides her hands around his waist, "what are you doing that you've decided no one else is allowed in here?"

"I'm cooking dinner," he says with a small shrug.

An eyebrow lifts on her forehead, "for twenty-two people? Do you even know how much work that is?"

"It's nothing. The bigger question here is: how did the talk go?"

She sighs as he takes the baby monitor out of her hand and sets it on the counter. He turns around to face her, stepping more towards her and away from the stove. Her back hits the island. She almost allows herself to get lost in the distraction of his hips pressed against hers. He almost asks again because he knows what she's thinking.

"It was okay, I guess. We came to an understanding," she explains.

He smirks just a little. "And what was that?"

Donna smirks. "I'm not quite sure."

"You never listen," he comments. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes at him while squeezing his sides. He lifts a hand and brushes the hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Is she going to forgive you?"

"She showed me her baby calming secret," she replies with a grin, "I'll show you later."

"You'll show me on me or on the baby?" He asks suggestively.

She looks at him pointedly and lightly shakes her head. "Are you feeling neglected?"

"You're distracting me from cooking dinner," he replies. She laughs a little at his efforts to avoid the subject matter which only solidifies in her mind that he is. She feels a little guilty about that, that the baby has made her unable to give him the attention that he needs. But he is _very_ high maintenance when it comes to her. "I told everyone else to leave. You shouldn't be in here. That's setting a bad example."

"Need I remind you that I just gave birth to your child three weeks ago?"

"Trust me, Babe, I haven't forgotten," he counters, "but you can't keep using that to get your way. It isn't fair. I can't ever do anything that big for you."

She gets it. She gets that he's putting in the effort to keep her balanced, to keep her from being too aggressive with everyone. She really wasn't prepared for all the aggression that would come with having a baby or any other feelings that would stir inside of her. She had physically prepared but she couldn't have prepared her feelings for this. She feels so incredibly guilty that she's been on the warpath. She hopes she hasn't been like this for 3 whole weeks.

Harvey's hands press into the counter behind her and she finds herself caught between them. She isn't going to complain about it, not when the father of her child is so damn good-looking. Besides, she needs to show or tell him somehow that she appreciates everything he's done for her.

"You did though," she says, "you gave me a baby when you didn't have to. You stayed when anyone else would have run away."

"I would do anything you asked me to," he replies. She's going to cry again.

"Not anything," she corrects.

He hooks a finger beneath her chin and lifts it, directing her gaze to hers. "Anything you asked me to. I can't lose you."

"Harvey," she replies, her voice shaking, "you're going to make me cry again."

He laughs in the bellows of his throat. "That seems to be easy to do these days."

"Don't be callous," she practically whines.

"I love you, but you can't be in here anymore."

Her hands find his biceps and she squeezes, his muscles flexing beneath her fingertips. The waiting after the baby isn't just difficult for him, but she hasn't admitted that just yet. They're still kind of new at being in a relationship and the physical aspect of a relationship is the only part they haven't spent years exhausting. She already knows everything about him.

"Fine, I'll leave," she sulks, "but don't think you've seen the last of me."

His mouth touches her temple for just a moment before he leans forward a little more. His chest presses against hers and forces her to arch her back as he leans down. He kisses her cheek, jaw, then her mouth. His lips are warm against hers, soft and comforting. Her fingers tighten into his muscles, the black sweater wrapped around him soft against her palm.

"You're distracting me," he says softly against her mouth.

She absently licks her lips as she grins, her tongue inadvertently touching his lips. She slips at of his grasp even though he's reluctant to let her leave. She tosses him a glance over his shoulder.

"You're feeding me to the wild animals, I hope you know."

"You'll survive," he counters. He looks like he's been teased into exhaustion. Surely she doesn't kiss that good.

"Love you, too," she calls. He stands a little taller at this regardless of the fact that her words were lined with sarcasm. 

* * *

"Oh, Harvey, this food is so good," Rebecca slurs from her seat at the other side of the table.

Harvey doesn't immediately acknowledge her. He just furrows his eyebrows and glances at Donna. They happen to look at each other at the same time. Their eyes lock and he thinks that their silent conversation could probably be weird to everyone else at the table.

Donna's hand finds his right leg beneath the table and she squeezes his thigh. He lightly shakes his head and leans back in his seat. "It's just chili. It isn't really all that difficult."

"It may have been better than mine," Frank, Donna's father, chimes in.

"Don't tell him that," Donna nearly pleads.

Harvey stares at her dumbfounded for a moment before he reaches for her hand. Cindy smirks knowingly and laughs. "Come on, Sis. Give the man some credit."

"Believe me, he gets the credit when the credit is due," Donna retorts, "besides, nobody's chili is better than Daddy's."

Harvey almost laughs.

"Oh god," Brandon adds, "Dad's chili is so spicy. My ass burns for a week after eating it." Evelyn looks at her oldest pointedly. Brandon smirks back at his mother. "Here's to hoping that not everyone needs the bathroom at the same time tonight."

"I don't need to hear about your bathroom habits," Donna grimaces.

Amy gags for effect. "You're grossing me out."

"You're gross," Brandon retaliates with a grin. It's playful bantering that Harvey remembers being part of when he was a kid, up until the ripe age of 16 anyway. That's when everything in his life changed.

Rebecca outwardly groans. "Ugh, why don't you two get a room already?"

Everyone at the table stills almost immediately and directs their gaze at Brandon's wayward wife. Harvey gulps like he's the one in trouble. Donna squeezes his hand like she saw this kind of thing coming from a mile away. She barely mentions her brother's beloved anyway and now he understands why.

"Rebecca," Brandon says, fuming, "can I speak to you outside, please?"

"It's ten degrees," she whines, "I'm not going out there with it so cold."

"In the other room then," Brandon corrects. It isn't a question and he's leaving no room for discussion.

All eyes follow Rebecca as she leaves the room. She nearly stomps up the stairs like a pissed off thirteen year old. Brandon follows with almost the same force. The two of them sound like a heard of animals going up the stairs in seek of refuge during a storm.

"So, Daddy," Cindy starts, "how's business?"

"Business is business," Frank replies. "No one wants to discuss law at the dinner table."

Harvey freezes for a moment. He didn't know that Donna's dad was a lawyer. That…explains a lot actually. She must have felt his muscles tense because she's sliding her thumb over his knuckle like it will fix everything.

Harvey shrugs. "That's my favorite subject." He feels Donna's nails suddenly dig into his skin. He corrects himself on her command, "second favorite subject."

He still didn't correct himself with the right answer. He can tell by the way her jaw muscles tense and she looks like she's about to slap him. He really can get himself into trouble faster than anyone he knows. With the exception of Rebecca, it seems. He should probably tread lightly for the remainder of the evening.

To his relief, the baby starts screaming and blasts through the baby monitor. If it was Brandon and Rebecca who woke him up, he should probably thank them later. Donna removes her napkin from her lap to attend to James, but Harvey stops her before she can move any further. His eyes are pleading with her and she almost decides not to give him an out.

"I've got him. You stay," he says before she can say anything. _Great_, she thinks, _now it looks like he's being considerate and she'd be the asshole if she didn't allow him the opportunity to be_. She narrows her eyes at him before he can even finish his thought. He can feel the daggers her eyes are shooting at him in his skin. He releases her hand – "relax."

She lightly shakes her head at him as a look of defeat spreads over her face. She hands him the baby monitor with disdain. His fingers lightly touch her shoulder in an attempt to reassure her.

"Daddy-" Amy starts as Harvey stands from the table. He grimaces. "-Cindy told me that you and Mom were thinking about going on a cruise."

Donna's eyes follow Harvey as he leaves the room. He can't tell if she's still glaring at him or silently pleading with her to save him. He winks at her as he tosses her a glance before he rounds the stair rail to go up the stairs. He hears yelling from the right and a screaming baby from the left. He has this desire to run straight out of the front door the moment Rebecca's voice raises. This reminds him too much of when his mom left.

"Hey, Buddy," Harvey says, pulling the door shut tight behind him, "it's okay. I'm here now."

James keeps crying, even as Harvey lifts him into his arms. He tries to shush him, to soothe him as he sits on the bed and rocks him. He goes down the checklist of things that can be wrong before it hits him.

"I guess this is a Mommy problem," Harvey mutters. 

* * *

"Show me how to do that thing again," Harvey says with a grin.

Donna looks at him emphatically before she grabs her sweater by the hem to tug it off over her head. He stares at her, lips parted as though he's never seen her topless before, and shakes his head. Why would she _keep doing this to him_? He swallows, hard, and kicks his shoes off.

"The kid is already asleep," she reminds him. She tosses her white cashmere sweater onto the bed and returns his gaze. He can't stand the way she's presenting herself to him like she isn't attractive at all. She's flaunting it, knowing that he can look but can't really touch. "You're staring."

He smirks. "Your body is bangin'." She's already so done with him. He's trying to mutually drive her up the wall like this isn't hard on her, too. "So is your face."

"Okay, no more movies for you," she murmurs through a small laugh.

"Made you laugh though," he points out. She unbuttons her jeans and grabs a cozy spot on the mattress within arm's length of her. He's tired of the _no touching_ rule. It's the dumbest rule he's ever experienced in his entire life. "But you seriously are hot."

"How can you say that? I'm fat," she corrects.

"Donna," he replies. He almost rolls his eyes at how ridiculous of an idea that even is. He shakes his head in protest and reaches for her, his fingers circling her wrist. He pulls her between his legs and touches her stomach, thumbs brushing at her waistline. "Don't be like that. I've been telling you that I'm attracted to you for the last three weeks. Come on, you know you're hot."

"I just had a baby, Harvey."

"Exactly," he replies, "you just had a baby and you're still the most attractive person in the room. What can I do to make you believe me?"

She lifts her hands and settles them onto shoulders, draping her arms around his neck. "I don't even know where we stand, Harvey."

"How can you not know? We live together. We have a baby together. I'm at your family's house for Christmas. I don't know what else I can give so you can figure out where we stand." He presses his lips against her stomach just above her belly button. She shivers beneath the warmth of his mouth.

She sighs and he lifts his gaze to hers; "but what do I call you? Are you my boyfriend? Are you just the father of my child? Are you roommate? I need to know how to define us."

"How about fiancé? You can call me that," he replies with a shrug.

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. "But we're not-"

"But I'm asking," he interjects. His fingers press into her ribcage and slide up her arms until he can clasp both of her hands in his.

"I thought you didn't want to get married," she reminds him.

"I wanted to surprise you but you're the hardest person to surprise that I've ever met. I thought if I didn't ask now then you'd figure it out and ruin the surprise," he explains. He smiles a bit sheepishly, fingers sliding through hers. "You didn't see this coming at all, did you?"

"I don't know what to say," she admits.

"You can think about it."

Her fingers squeeze his shoulders and she leans forward to press a kiss to his jaw. He doesn't know how to take that. Is that her way of answering his question, or is she telling him that she'll think about it? He can't tell, and for once he doesn't know how to read her. It doesn't help that she is speechless.

"Honey, I love you," she practically whispers in his ear, "but isn't this something you want to talk about?"

"Babe, you were crying earlier when you thought I didn't want to marry you," he kindly recaps for her, "but I did and I do. I want to marry you. I want us to be a family, but if you need to think about it-"

"I don't. I don't need to think about it," she shakes her head, "I _do_ want to marry you. You're my hero for being here with me, in this crazy house, full of so many people that I don't even understand how we all fit. But, you've been driving me crazy with the way that your jeans have settled on your hips."

"Get some self-control, Woman," he retorts, "you don't have to wait much longer."

"I really can't wait to have sex with you again," she expresses.

He laughs quietly, dragging his fingers across her skin. "It's the ass."

She cackles, "it's the cute ass."

"I'm tired," he says, "can we go to bed?"

His fingers slide down her ribcage and his hands settle on her hips. "Can I get one more look at it before we go?"

"Consider it your new Christmas present," he jokes. Her fingers slip beneath the hem of his sweater and she claws at his skin with her nails. The light scratches prompts him to intake a sharp breath and narrow his gaze at her. "We have approximately three hours of sleep before her new alarm goes off. Stop teasing me."

"You're the boss," she replies with a wink.

He lightly shakes his head, deciding that it's better to make no comment at all. He takes his sweater off over his head and hands it to her, already knowing that she's going to pick it up and put it on to sleep in. He keeps his white t-shirt on and crawls into bed, hogging the middle and leaving her no choice but to be extremely close to him. He always does this to her.


	2. december 24th

_Here is the next part. I hope you enjoy it! If you like it, please review! If you have any Christmas traditions that you would like to see included, let me know. I'm not very good with Christmas traditions anymore. Enjoy!_

* * *

_**December 24th, 2013**_

* * *

Harvey wakes up to a quiet room. No baby screaming. No noise coming from anywhere so loud that he can't even hear his own breathing. He doesn't hear the sound of cars honking below or helicopters flying overhead. The hustle of the city has definitely not entered this place. He didn't know how perfect that would be for Christmas. But there's something missing.

He peels his eyes open and reaches across the mattress for his bed partner, but comes up empty handed. In fact, the rest of the bed is extremely cold on his warm skin which makes him believe that he's been alone in the bed for a very long time. He doesn't remember her being so cat-like that she could rise without waking him. But, the last time that either of them had woken up in the last three weeks has been to a baby and before that she was extremely pregnant, not to mention less graceful.

Just as he's about to get out of bed and go in search of her, the bedroom door opens and she's sneaking in. He stills, silently hoping that if he looks so inviting in the bed that she'll return to it. That is, until he sees that she has a steaming mug in each hand. He quirks his eyebrow as she sets one on the nightstand.

"Good morning, Sleepyhead," she teases.

He offers her a lopsided grin and stretches. "Morning."

"Thought I would let you sleep in," she explains. He reaches for his phone on the nightstand and presses a button to let up the screen. He catches the time and sighs heavily. It's only 7:00am.

He frowns. "I don't think I was ever prepared for seven to be considered sleeping in."

"It's better than four," she replies with a shrug.

"That's true," he agrees. He stifles a yawn and rolls onto his back. His t-shirt somehow managed to creep up his torso and reveal his back to the cold spots in the sheets. He shivers. The faint smell of coffee drifts to his side of the bed and he eyes her wearily. "Are you drinking coffee?"

"That's yours," she answers with a light shake of her head, "mine doesn't taste nearly as good."

"I don't want to be forced to spank you this early in the morning because you're drinking coffee and know you shouldn't be," he replies cheekily.

Her eyebrows pop up on her forehead and her mouth drops open, despite the smile trying to work its way to the corners of it. He knows that he's got her. _Hook, line, and sinker._ She shakes her head again and the smile disappears. He's always been baffled by the way she can instantly transform into someone else – must be the actress in her.

"I've been thinking," she starts. She hands him his steaming cup of coffee, forcing him to slide up in the bed and lean against the headboard for support. He takes the cup from her while mumbling a _yeah?_ and a _thanks_ nearly at the same time. He takes a sip and eyes her curiously. "Just because we can't have sex doesn't mean that we can't do anything."

"It's seven a.m.," he points out, "and you're thinking about sex?"

"Just because I'm bringing it up now doesn't mean that I've only been thinking about it this morning," she corrects.

He smirks, "what about the kid?"

This when she grins, like she's already made alternate arrangements with that mischievous sparkle in her eye. "That's the good news. Mom's got him and she refuses to take no for an answer."

"Your mom sent you in here to participate in sex alternatives with me?" He asks, eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"Well," she starts. It almost sounds to him like she's going to say yes. He doesn't know how he feels about their sex life being family business. No, wait. He knows exactly how he feels. He is whole heartedly and entirely against it. She lightly shakes her head; he wonders if the long pause was really necessary or if that was really all in his head. "She insists that we spend time together without having to worry about the baby. She called it her _Christmas present_ to us even though she was very against the idea of us being a couple just yesterday."

"Maybe she's warming up to the idea," he says with a shrug.

"Maybe," she absently agrees. "Point is," she starts, setting her own mug on the nightstand before getting up and locking the bedroom door. She turns to look at him, the mischievous look even bigger now. His eyebrow arches as a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "Saddle up, Cowboy."

A laugh catches in his throat. "Here? You wanna do this here? Right now?"

"I wanna do this right here, right now." Her voice is low in that sexy way that demands he be serious. He reminds himself to breathe properly.

"What did you have in mind?" Her eyebrows lift suggestively on her forehead. He lightly shakes his head as a confused smile spreads over his mouth. "I'm not sure what that means, Babe. It's seven in the morning. My communication without words skills don't kick in until eight."

"It means that I love you," she replies.

He's a bit tired of her being vague. It's too early for him to be thinking this intensely. Besides, he's on vacation. He gives a small laugh and tosses the blankets off of his lap, quickly moving to the other side of the bed which is closest to her. Her hands settle onto his shoulders and his hands touch her hips.

He swallows the thick film of saliva that's gathered at the base of his throat. "You don't have to do this if you don't feel completely comfortable."

She nods in acknowledgement but slides her arms around his neck as she leans forward to press her mouth against his in a kiss. He is very much aware of her intent, of what she has in mind, but one thing he knows is that she has been very much against it since they've started. He's beginning to wonder if that just had to do with the pregnancy.

His mouth opens in anticipation, lips parting beneath hers. She sighs into his mouth on contact, like it's been longer than it actually has been since they've kissed one another, and his fingers dig into her back. He's having a hard time holding himself together, at the thought of a physical contact they've deprived themselves of for weeks. He can tell by the way he's holding her up, the way that all of her weight has settled onto him and she is nearly putty in his grasp, that she feels the same way.

Her tongue flits against his teeth and slides along his lips as she arches her torso against his. He gets it, like she's sending him some kind of message with her body, and he's pretty sure it isn't going to take as much effort as she's putting in to it just to give him a hard on. His fingers slide to the small of her back and her tongue curls around his. Her fingers squeeze his shoulders, thumbs digging into his skin.

Her palms press against his collarbones the moment that she feels his dick harden against her thigh and she looks at him with purpose. He grunts as her hand slides down his front, fingertips tickling his skin at the light touches, and the noise is quickly buried into a sigh. Her teeth nip at the corner of his mouth before grinding against his jaw just briefly. Her short nails are sharp against his skin just above the waistband of his boxer briefs, and shivers beneath her touch.

Her fingers press hard into his stomach. He swallows as her mouth touches his throat and tongue slides over his Adam's Apple. "You don't have to do this," he insists, "I can wait."

"I don't want to," she retorts, her voice muffled by his skin. Her breath seeps into his pores, the warmth hugging his skin like isn't 20 degrees outside.

His hand slides up her spine and disappears into her hair. Her teeth dig into his collarbone, gentle enough not to hurt but hard enough to arouse him, and her tongue sweeps over the skin there. He can feel her suck on his skin like she's going to leave her mark. _She wouldn't_, he thinks.

He sighs again. She can't tell if it's one of pleasure or malcontent. She chooses the former. "Honey, you don't have to do this. You just had a baby. I-"

She cuts him off by silencing him and putting his mouth to good use against hers. Her nails push up his skin, taking his t-shirt with it and she pulls back to tug it off over his head. His eyebrows furrow as she tosses it back onto the bed behind him.

"It's sweet of you to keep repeating that I don't have to do this," she says, smiles and gives him a brief kiss, "but I want to – to thank you for being so wonderful."

The crease between his brows deepens. "You're being very nice to me. Much nicer than normal."

"Harvey," she says sharply. She smacks him on the chest, a red mark in the shape of her hand forming just inches away from the one her mouth left moments before. He smirks and wraps his hand around her wrist, like he's keeping her from hitting him again. He does love a little bit of physical reprimand. "Would you shut up? I'm trying to suck your dick here."

"That's some bold dirty talk there," he comments. "If you're giving me a blowjob for Christmas does that make me naughty or nice? Because either way, you're obviously naughty."

She gives him a pointed look. He relents immediately. He doesn't know why he's being so difficult when he's obviously about to be rewarded for being a _very_ good boy this year.

"Is all this talk about being naughty or nice turning you on or something?"

Her hair wraps around his fingertips and he grins. "I was turned on way before that."

"Then stop trying to have a conversation because I can't do both," she reminds him.

He rolls his eyes but does as he's told anyway. She smiles triumphantly and briefly kisses him before gliding her hand down his torso. She slips her hand into his boxers and brushes her fingertips over the length of him. He nearly shutters at the warmth, at the way that he had almost forgotten what it was like to have her touch him. Surely it hasn't been that long.

"Jesus," he mutters.

She grins and plants kisses along his chest, slowly making her way down his stomach. There is a moment where his breath hitches in his chest, constricts in his throat, tightens in his stomach at the sight of her crouching between his legs. _This is not happening. This is not happening._ - he keeps repeating to himself. Donna strokes him a few times before he releases a breath. She narrows her gaze at him, almost warningly.

_Is that a warning?_

One hand pushes at his chest, guiding him to lay back against the mattress, and he groans as he complies. He does know that he wasn't expecting this when he woke up 15 minutes ago. She loosens his dick out of his boxers; he wasn't entirely prepared for the temperature change, the quick flush of cold to warm spreading over his shoulders as her mouth circles the tip of him. He almost forgets to breathe, forgets that breathing is an involuntary concept that he's been doing since birth.

He pushes his palms into his eyes, already on the verge of seeing stars, and rubs at them as her mouth slides along his shaft. Her teeth lightly scratch at the skin, teasing him so incessantly that he isn't even sure what he should be doing. Where do his hands go? What should he be doing with them? Maybe it's been so long since his dick has had any attention that it seems like the first time. (Like 4 weeks without sexual related activities is a first for him /sarcasm) (Maybe it's just that he's been looking at a woman he's so attracted to for that long with the permission to touch her but not to touch her too much) – He thinks he's been learning self-control.

Well, every bit of self-control he's been working towards is definitely going out the window now.

A knot gathers in his throat or his stomach or his chest – a knot gathers. He swallows in an effort to push it away but she's definitely doing a number on him. Her refusal to do this for so long (not that he's really asked her out loud, but every time the question thinks about touching his lips she gives him a firm "no") has definitely been well worth the wait and it isn't even over yet.

It's about to be though.

Her mouth is hot and wet on his dick. He swallows. "Oh god."

His hand touches the top of her head but his eyes are squeezed shut tight. Her mouth strokes him expertly and it suddenly occurs to him that he really shouldn't have expected anything less from her because she's never been anything but the best at everything she does for him. His hand slides through her hair and her hands find his thighs. He doesn't think he'll be able to handle her touching him at all for the rest of the day after this.

"Caution," he says.

She understands his message. It never did take much with them. If he had to guess, she'd probably know even without having to say anything. Her hand squeezes his thigh and he growls instinctively. _What? He doesn't growl. Where did that come from?_

He's going to – "caution," he says a little louder this time.

Her tongue circles his head again and he releases a loud breath. He didn't know he was holding his breath. The breath that he expels is rather large but when he tries to suck in a heavy breath, he doesn't feel like he gets enough air. His fingers curl in her hair. He's going to, "Jesus fucking Christ-"

- too late.

All of his muscles in his body tighten and her nails dig half-moons into his thighs. His breathing speeds up, short quick breaths barely touch his lungs, and Donna pulls back with a _pop_. She lifts her gaze to his and offers him a smirk. Harvey Specter is rendered speechless not for the first time this month.

She starts to pull away from him but he lunges forward and captures her by the wrist. He can barely move and here he is exerting all of his energy to keep her from going anywhere. He's only been awake for twenty-ish minutes and he's already worn out. He tugs her towards him and captures her mouth with his own. She was definitely not expecting that. 

* * *

Harvey crouches behind a covered trailer in the backyard of Donna's parents' house, just inches away from Bianca, Heather, and Donna. He wonders briefly how he got roped into being on the girls' team during a snowball fight. He wouldn't have felt good teaming up with the guys anyway because the girls were heavily outnumbered. In fact, he thinks that the only reason the girls even agreed to play is because he said that he would be on their team.

One day, it will James having a snowball fight with all of the other kids. Harvey drifts off thinking about the future, wondering if he should teach James to be the kind of kid who insists on being on the girls' team because it isn't fair for them to be outnumbered. He thinks about what it could be like to be a kid who does the right thing instead of trying to be the cool one. He should teach his kid that doing the right thing is the cool thing.

He's pretty sure that if he doesn't do that anyway then Donna will be all over his ass. She's always been his moral compass, keeping him from going down a path that is anything less than right. (Which is funny in his head because she's the one who destroyed the memo, not him, but he would never dare bring it up. Ever. It doesn't need to be talked about anymore.) If Harvey doesn't teach his kid that the right thing is the most important thing, then he would feel like he failed as a dad. If Gordon Specter taught him anything, it's that.

Lucky for Harvey, anything that Matthew and Grant do they do loudly. They're screaming like they're running into war as they round the corner and Harvey does his job as the male of the group – he jumps forward and protects the girls from the cold snow that will be impaled at them. It hits him in the back, managing to get around his collar and slide down his spine. It's freezing on his skin, and he arches forward on impulse like that will keep it from being cold.

He screams in the back of his throat and Donna starts laughing at him. Her hands circle his waist, fingers grasping at his sides, and he thinks of a few ways to shut her up. That is, if he weren't dealing with a particularly cold piece of snow sliding down his back. Not even the warmest coat in the world could save him now. At least the little girls didn't get hit in the face this time. He isn't sure that he could deal with that crying again.

He narrows his gaze at Donna. "What are you laughing at?"

"You even managed to sound manly while screaming," she observes, "I'm impressed."

"You think that's funny? You would scream like a little girl if you had some cold snow in your shirt," he sulks.

She rolls her eyes. He thinks her eyes are going to fall right out of the sockets when she does that one day. "You're exaggerating."

"Sounds like a challenge," he squeaks.

She quirks an eyebrow and points at him, "Honey, don't you dare."

He grins mischievously, scooping up a handful of snow. Her eyes widen while Heather and Bianca take off towards the house behind her. He _wouldn't dare_, would he?

"You know, you've managed to be sickeningly sweet these past two days. _Honey_ this. _Babe_ that. _Sweetheart, baby,_ even _love_ once. What happened to those other terms of endearment? What were they? _Bastard_? Or was it _dickhead_? I can't remember."

"You're such a baby," she laughs, "and you're one to talk."

"What did I do?" He asks, voice trailing into a whine. It's funny how it does that so often when he's talking to her.

"You've only called me _Donna_ onE tiME," she argues.

He sighs. "Well, that's your name, isn't it? Or is it Debbie?"

"That's not funny anymore," she frowns.

His eyebrows furrow. "Since when?"

"Since I became the mother of your child."

"Fine," he relents, "you win this round. But we're not done with the snow conversation."

She laughs. "You think you can beat me?"

"I don't think," he replies. His eyebrows wiggle on his forehead. "I know."

He creeps towards her but she's quicker than he anticipated. She takes off across the yard. He knows that she's quick in a pair of stilettos but apparently when you take away the heel and put her in boots for the snow she's even faster. He runs four days a week (well, less now that James was born), he should be able to catch up with her no problem. He runs after her, ditching the snow that he'd scooped up, and lets his legs carry him in the same path she's made.

She laughs loudly when he catches her by the waist and pulls her into his chest. Her back hits him hard but he grins in spite of himself. It's so hard to focus on anything but her laughter. She turns in his arms and pushes at him, like he's going to let her go. She knows better than to think that he really will.

He pulls a little too hard at the same time that she pushes and they both crash to the ground. He keeps his arms around her, enough to secure her from actually hitting the ground and just landing on him. Her fingers are circled around the lapels of his jacket and her breath is hot on his cheek. He almost makes a comment about how this is a scene straight out of a romantic comedy, but he decides not to.

"I thought you were going to freeze me out," she teases, "but you wouldn't even let me touch the ground."

"I didn't want you to melt all the snow since you're so hot."

She shakes her head. That was a quick retort even for him – less witty and cheesier. She didn't prepare herself for the side of Harvey that was practically giving her a cavity every single day. She actually isn't sure that anything could have possibly prepared her for that. He lifts his glove covered hand and brushes the hair out of her face. The slightest hints of an erection press against her inner thigh.

"Hey, Buddy, if you're not careful, we're going to have bigger problems," she warns. He furrows his eyebrows like he isn't following her. His eyes are focused on her lips anyway. "If you want to know if you can get into my pants, then the answer is that I would let you if I could."

"Trust me, I'm good after earlier," he replies, "but you're so beautiful I just want to kiss you."

She sighs and tilts her head. "When have you ever asked me for anything?"

"I need you," he pouts.

It sounds oddly sexy coming from his mouth. Maybe it's the way that he's only ever been this vulnerable with her, how he doesn't think about the way he is exposed to her when he admits it. His vulnerability is sexy in a way that she wouldn't possibly find it to be on someone else. She kisses him without him needing to say anything else.

His hands work their way to the small of her back and –

"Donna!" Her mother yells from the back door, "we need you in here."

The way her mother sounds makes her believe that she's needed for Mommy duties. Even then, Donna can't help the annoyed sigh that presses against Harvey's mouth and she puffs air out against them. He laughs gently at her, but he really isn't helping the situation at all. She's silently thankful that he has gloves on because the feeling of his hands on her skin would heavily distract her.

"You're being summoned," he mutters.

She lifts her head and calls _be right there_ in the direction of her mother's form. She sighs and shifts her gaze back to Harvey. "You're not exactly making it easy for me to leave."

His thumbs dig into her hips as he pushes her upwards. She doesn't remember him being so strong, being able to lift her and force her to her feet. She doesn't remember that being something that he was able to do. Maybe it's because she weighed 50 pounds more and was the size of a whale.

"I'm not doing anything," he insists.

She quirks an eyebrow as he helps her to her feet. "You know exactly what you're doing."

"I plead the fifth," he says with a light shake of his head. He follows her to her feet and his hand finds the small of her back. Impulsively, she begins sweeping her hands at his snow covered back as the cold air bits her cheeks. He kisses her again at the corner of her mouth. "Better hurry," he adds, hand slapping against her ass.

Her mouth drops open. She wasn't expecting that at all. He smirks in return.

He's so full of surprises today. 

* * *

Of course it would be like this. Of course she would be wedged between the father of her child and the mother of her brother's children, left to wonder what the hell is really happening as Rebecca's elbow digs into her ribcage. Donna has half a mind to tell Harvey to switch her spots, if it weren't for one very important detail.

Rebecca is very much capable and willing to touch Harvey in places that would make Donna rip her sister-in-law's hair right out of her head. Donna doesn't want to be that jealous kind of woman, but she doesn't play nicely when things belong to her. Maybe that's why her and Harvey have always gotten along so well – he doesn't play nicely either and he does not like to share. She can even see the annoyance flare in his nostrils when she calls him her boss rather than her boyfriend (fiancé) on occasion. She thinks that for him, crossing that line was inevitable and he doesn't ever want to go back.

Rebecca's lewd comments burn the air. Like the space in the room is tainted, doused in gasoline, everybody is feeling the tension now. And Donna can tell that shit has only just begun to hit the fan. She can only use her newborn baby as an excuse to escape the tension so many times, especially since Harvey is tossing the same excuse into the air; she really does love being in the loop though.

Donna feels the intense gaze of her partner on her skin, Harvey's fingertips so close to her knee. He's watching her hands as though his life depends on it, like he's looking for any kind of crack in her steely façade. The front that she's putting on in front of her dysfunctional family is not one that Harvey is familiar with. She's keeping her mouth shut at times that he can see her ache to say whatever is on her mind, but she isn't speaking she's biting her tongue.

For a moment, he is in awe of her.

She, however, is tired of her sister-in-law tossing her fiancé flirtatious phrases. She's tired of overhearing comments like _Oh, Harvey, you're so handsome_. She can't decide if Rebecca is just trying to challenge her or trying to be a thorn in Brandon's side. Donna really thinks the only reason she has wedged herself between Rebecca and Harvey is because she doesn't trust Rebecca to keep her hands off of Harvey. If that were to happen, Donna would have to cut her throat. 

* * *

"Oh shit," Harvey mutters when he glances at his phone. Donna quirks an eyebrow from across the bedroom after having just gotten James to fall back to sleep. She's pretty sure feeding the baby is not a two person ordeal, but Harvey just really isn't interested in being stuck with her family. "I forgot to tell you that I invited Marcus."

Donna smirks and lays back on the bed, her hair fanning out behind her. She shifts a gaze towards him as he slips his phone back into his pocket. "I know you did."

"How do you know that?" He asks, eyebrows furrowing.

She laughs. "He told me when I called to invite him. I thought that he shouldn't miss spending Christmas with his only nephew."

"You see," he starts, grin spreading across his mouth, "this is why I love you."

"Because I'm wildly attractive?" She teases.

He leans onto his knees, hovering his face over hers as he peers at her. "Among other things."

A silence takes over them and he leans forward to press his lips against hers, soft and gentle like a silent appreciation. She understand everything that he conveys in his movements. Her hands fist in his hair like she's trying to keep him from going too far. She wonders if this is what life is going to be like, stolen moments like they are forbidden. Are they even allowed to be together? Is she going to lose her job? She really shouldn't be pondering this over the holidays – especially while still on maternity leave.

"I really miss work," she admits.

His nose slides against hers, his eyelashes tickling her face. "Soon."

His breath is warm on her face. She can feel his soft lips on hers and he's only hovering above her. "I really miss sex, too."

"Me too," he agrees, "but it'll happen soon enough."

"Everything in our life right now is just _not yet_," she complains.

"Well, that kind of comes with having a baby. We have to lose who we are for a little bit and focus on our kid before we find our way back to ourselves."

She sighs. "You're a great dad, Harvey."

"I wouldn't be able to do it without you," he insists. She knows that he's about to go into his subtle way of telling her that he needs her and he couldn't do it without her. Some days he's direct, but others he is very cryptic. "I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just guessing most of the time. I don't know how to be a dad. I'm just looking at my kid and I see you on his face. It makes me love you even more. He looks just like you and it's more than I ever thought I would actually get."

She shakes her head in protest. "He looks like you. He has your eyes and nose. All he got from me was his attitude."

"Something tells me he's going to be a handful," Harvey absently agrees with a laugh.

"If his daddy wasn't a sassy little girl ninety percent of the time then we wouldn't have to worry."

"Hey!" Harvey calls, "that's just not true."

She erupts into laughter before his hands can even touch her. There's an echo that vibrates in her chest as he pushes his fingers into her skin just below her ribcage and starts tickling her just a little. She didn't used to be ticklish. Having a baby really messed with her body.

"Harvey," she screams between laughs, "stop. You're going to wake up the baby."

"No, you're going to wake up the baby," he corrects with a grin. _Damn lawyers always focusing on the word choice of other people._

He silences her laughter by kissing her again, his palms immediately flattening against her stomach. It bothers her how he's always touching her in places that haven't returned to the way it was before she was ever pregnant. She doesn't know why it bothers her so much. She's heard of men being so afraid to touch a woman after they've given birth that it permanently damages a relationship. She's probably overthinking it. She's always overthinking things in regard to her relationship with him.

His tongue sweeps over her slightly parted lips and his fingers slide under the hem of her shirt. Her hands find his wrists and she tugs his hands upwards. She slides her fingers between his, threading them together to keep them occupied. She doesn't know how to get over this feeling. She's been trying to keep these fears hidden from him, but he knows her so well that it's only a matter of time.

He says nothing about it when he pulls back and presses his mouth against her jaw.

"What's the matter?" He asks against her mouth.

She should have seen it coming. She's been worrying about it every time that he touches her. This conversation was inevitable. "Nothing."

"Donna," he replies, looking at her pointedly. He isn't buying it.

"It's just," she starts.

She sighs because she really doesn't want to have this conversation. He's going to find her ridiculous because she's afraid. She'd be afraid if he didn't try to touch her, and she's afraid because he is – because she can't give him what he wants right now and she wonders if that will make him look somewhere else. _What is she thinking? This is Harvey Specter_, the man with morals that surprise everyone.

She shakes her head and squeezes his hands in hers. "I don't look like I did before I got pregnant."

"That's okay," he replies softly, "it's only been three weeks and there's plenty of time for you to get that back. We will have to work hard at it if that's what you want. But I think you're beautiful, you look amazing and I don't want to stop touching you. It's like I'll forget this is real if I do."

"Honey, you do realize that Rebecca is five minutes away from ripping your pants off and I will then be forced to cut her throat, right?" Donna counters.

"Lucky for you, you have a great lawyer."

"You don't do pro-bono," she reminds him

He laughs. "Who says you wouldn't owe me?"

"You do remember that we are actually talking about someone touching you, right? And how I would have to kill them if they did?"

He swallows thickly. "I've only been looking at you, Babe. I know that's hard to believe but I think you need to trust me when I tell you that no one else will ever have me like you."

"Your feelings for me have never kept you from looking at other women," she half scoffs.

He smirks and brushes his thumb over her knuckle. "That was different."

"How?"

"I couldn't touch you whenever I wanted," he explains. He kisses her lightly. "Now I can." 

* * *

Kids keep screaming. It's driving Harvey crazy. It doesn't help that Donna left about 20 minutes ago to meet up with Marcus so he could find his way back. He doesn't have a clue what could be taking them so long unless his brother is really THAT directionally challenged. _Marcus was so bright, he had a bright future_, Harvey thinks as though his brother is lost.

He's a bit excited to see his little brother. He hasn't seen him in so long. Marcus couldn't make it to the hospital when James was born because he was in Africa on some volunteer work. He sometimes wonders how his little brother ended up the way that he is, but then Harvey remembers the kind of man that Gordon was. Harvey thinks that he ended up being the only one damaged by his mother.

Marcus has lived his life differently than Harvey ever would. That time that Marcus was in the hospital years ago was because he was sent back home from Africa with Malaria. He had gone with the Doctors Without Borders program when he was just an intern against Harvey's advisement. Harvey couldn't even get ahold of him when their dad died. Harvey's just lucky he was able to send Marcus an email months ago to let him know that he was going to be a dad. Upon receiving that email, Marcus responded that he would stay home when he came back.

So, of course Donna knows the town better than him and insisted that she go to meet up with Marcus – of course she did. She practically abandoned him with her family to go because _one of them had to stay with James_ like her parents aren't capable of watching a baby. It isn't that he misses her company, it's that he's worried because it does not take 20 minutes to get to where they were meeting and back. He isn't worried.

Okay, he's a little worried. He's been pacing since she left. The snow has been coming down a bit, at least he thought it was. His mind could just be playing tricks on him. He's moments from looking for his phone and calling her when the door pops open. Donna is laughing, her arm looped through Marcus', and it prompts Harvey to paint a scowl across his face.

He jumps towards the door from his place at the bottom of the stairs. His arms are crossed in front of his chest angrily. "What took you so long?" He practically accuses.

"Marcus was telling me all about his latest trip," Donna explains, "and the bus ran a little late."

"Where's my nephew?" Marcus grins. Donna thinks he looks just like Harvey.

Harvey's gaze narrows on his brother. "He's asleep. That's what newborns do."

Donna quirks an eyebrow. "Were you pacing by the door?"

"I was not," Harvey sighs, "I was not pacing by the door. I was just…"

Donna shakes her head and shields her smirk. Harvey helps Donna out of her coat as Marcus shrugs himself out of his, subsequently looking for a place to hang their outdoor clothing by the front door. Just as Harvey takes his brother's jacket a 5 year old kid runs by with Amy in tow. Harvey catches the way Marcus looks at Donna's little sister and he shakes his head warningly.

"Amy," Donna addresses with a grin, "this is Harvey's brother, Marcus. Marcus, this is my little sister Amy."

"I'd shake your hand but I'm chasing my kid," Amy says with an apologetic smile, "he's not really interested in taking a bath right now and he needs to get to bed so _Santa can come_."

She says the last part louder so it can reach Zachary's ears. Marcus smiles in an amused way, in a way that Harvey can remember smiling when he first met a Paulsen woman. He supposes that Marcus has always looked at Donna like that. There shouldn't be anything to worry about then.

"I'm really just eager to meet my nephew," Marcus replies honestly.

Harvey feels like his eyes are deceiving him, the way that Marcus is watching Amy while reaching for Donna. Inviting him to a household full of Paulsen women was clearly a horrible idea. Harvey almost smacks his little brother on the arm but decides against it. He rocks on his heels in anticipation for the conversation to end. They're both staring at each other while saying they want to be doing something else. This is beyond logic to Harvey despite the fact that he experienced the very same thing for over 10 years.

"I caught the monster," Shawn, Amy's boyfriend, says as he carries Zachary in over his shoulder.

"Right," Amy says, ripping her gaze away from the staring contest. Donna rolls her eyes as she reaches for Harvey's hand and steps closer to him. Harvey shakes his head as she hugs his arm, watching the slight pout form on Marcus' face. He has always been a little bit in love with Donna, not that Harvey blames him. "I better go."

Shawn tosses daggers at Marcus over his shoulder as he follows Amy out of the room with Zachary in his grasp.

"God, what are you doing?" Harvey accuses barely above a whisper, the back of his hand hitting Marcus' upper arm. "You just can't help yourself, huh?"

"It isn't like I have a lot of options in Africa," Marcus replies with a shrug.

Donna interjects before the brothers can start arguing. "The kid is asleep, but I'll be happy to take you to him."

Marcus is nearly jumping up and down in excitement. Meanwhile, Harvey has to remind himself to take a deep breath and settle his nerves. He's overreacting and he doesn't even know why. His palms feel sweaty, even with Donna's pressed against his. _Great, a visible reaction_. Donna doesn't miss a thing.

"Don't you want to meet the rest of Donna's family?" Harvey suggests.

She squeezes Harvey's hand, her nails digging into the back of his palm. "He can meet them later, Harvey. He's here to see your son."

"He's a baby. He doesn't really do anything but cry and sleep," he counters.

Donna sighs warningly. "Then how come you can only leave his side for an hour, if that?"

"It's not like that," Harvey insists. Donna's hand leaves his and he knows that he's done something wrong. He outwardly groans and Marcus looks at him like he's become a whiny child. Donna motions to Marcus to follow her up the stairs. "Don't wake him up," Harvey warns.

Donna shakes her hand and smiles mischievously, "he's my baby. I'll wake him if I want to."

Harvey practically stomps after them up the stairs. Marcus' duffle bag is tossed over his shoulder and bangs against the wooden rail as he follows Donna. Donna is such a defiant woman. Harvey doesn't even know how he can keep up with her most days. She always keeps him on his toes, that's for sure.

Donna lets Marcus go into the bedroom first but before the two of them can follow, she closes the bedroom door and corners Harvey. "What's your problem?"

"I was worried," he admits.

She laughs and he immediately sulks in return. "Sweetheart, you need to take it down a notch. You haven't seen your brother in what? Three? Four years? Give him a hug. Tell him you're glad to see him. Be excited for him to meet his nephew."

He huffs. "I'm sorry."

"Don't say that to me," she counters. She runs her hands over his arms and gives them a slight squeeze. He doesn't know what her ultimate goal is. Maybe she's being reassuring. Maybe it's something else. He tilts his head slightly. "I'm sure your brother will pretend none of that happened if you go in there without the sulking. No apology needed."

Harvey swallows. "Fine, but he's going to fuck your sister if she gives him the time of day."

She rolls her eyes, "thank you for the subtlety, Hot Shot."

"Oh come on, you know he's always had a thing for you. He's going to transfer all of those feelings onto someone else and your sister seemed fairly open to the idea," Harvey points out.

"Who says we never-"

"Don't you even finish that sentence," Harvey interrupts, "that isn't even funny to joke about."

She pushes up onto her toes and presses a kiss to his jaw. "Be an excited Daddy."

"I am an excited Daddy," he corrects, "but that doesn't mean I need an image of you and my brother having sex in my head. Do you remember that last time I saw a guy touching you?"

"Oh yeah, we don't want a repeat of that," Donna decides. "But this is your brother, Harvey. He's here for you and for James. He isn't here for me."

"He's maybe here for you a little bit," Harvey disagrees.

"Stop being ridiculous," she says with a roll of the eyes.

He kisses her again. "I can't help it, Babe. Being with you makes me absolutely crazy."

"So does being without me."

"Exactly." 

* * *

Donna's practically falling asleep on Harvey, her legs draped over his thigh and hugging his arm. He doesn't entirely seem comfortable that she decided to use him to get comfortable, but he supposes that it's the only way the three of them can fit on the loveseat. He supposes that could really be much worse than having her so close to him, his arm wrapped around her back to brace her.

Her breathing evens out and Harvey thinks that she probably fell asleep. He tilts his head to look at her only to discover that she did fall asleep. _It figures_, he thinks, /ishe would fall asleep in the middle of a very loud room/i.

Harvey pokes Marcus' arm. "I need to get her to go to bed."

"It's only nine o'clock," Marcus points out.

"James woke her up early," Harvey explains. He doesn't even know that to be true. He's just assuming because James never woke him up throughout the night. He's beginning to wonder if she even slept at all. He can't deal with her level of energy. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Marcus insists.

Harvey absently pats his little brother's shoulder before returning his hand to Donna's arm. His fingers drag down her spine as he uses his other hand to brush a lose strand of hair behind her ear. She huffs but her eyes don't open.

"You should go to bed," Harvey mutters in her ear. "You've had a long day."

"Are you coming?" She asks against his throat.

"I, uh," he starts but he doesn't know how to finish.

Her fingers curl into his ribs as she grasps at his shirt. "Then I'm fine."

He sighs. "You're tired. It's okay if you want to go to bed."

"We haven't even done the Christmas movie or the presents," she replies.

"The movie started twenty minutes ago. You've been asleep for thirty." He laughs a little, pressing his chin against her forehead. She peels her eyes open and peers at him. "I'll come to bed soon."

"Oh yeah," she says like she suddenly remembers something, "you should spend time with your brother while he's here."

"We have tomorrow to talk," Harvey replies, "I just want to be sure he has a place to sleep before we bail on him."

"Mom said she was going to put him where she was going to put you before, you know, the surprise," she clarifies. He's surprised that she's so suddenly awake. The fingers of her other hand curls around his forearm. His fingers absently tap on her thigh in response. "So you'll come to bed then?"

"Can't go without me?" He teases.

She sighs and shakes her head. "It's just not comfortable without you. Then you come to bed and move around a lot. And so I have to-"

He smiles sarcastically, "got it, Babe."


End file.
